Year-end Processes

There are two "year ends" in Jewel.

The Fiscal Year End is when you close out your yearly budget.

The Calendar Year End is when you deal with 1099s and donor contribution reports.

For many churches these two events coincide at the end of December. However, some churches end their fiscal year at some other time during the year - often at the end of June or July. Whether you are performing a fiscal year end, calendar year end, or both - Jewel's NextStep button will guide you through the steps you need to take.

Once you have completed the last offering of the fiscal/calendar year end, Jewel will begin guiding you through the last month end process, which then continues into the year end process.

Note: Year-end transactions must be entered before closing the last month of the year. There is no way to enter transactions after closing the month but before closing the year. Do not Print Reports for your last month until all year-end transfers have been entered.

When Can I Close?

Do not close December until about January 5. The reason is that contributions must be posted in the year they are "delivered" by the donor. According to the IRS, delivery date is the earlier of:

• The postmark date or electronic donation send date -- contributions/donations mailed or electronically transferred to the church must be postmarked/sent no later than December 31.
• The date when the donation is/was actually received by the church or church treasurer.

You should deposit these last-minute funds as soon as possible. When you do your December bank reconciliation, these deposits will simply be accounted for as "Uncleared Deposits". They will then clear when you do your January bank reconciliation.

NOTE: Sometimes people give an offering call on the first Sabbath of the new year, telling the congregation that checks contributed on that day can be credited to the previous year if they are dated no later than December 31. This advice is incorrect and should NOT be given!! The "delivery date" (as defined above) is what matters, not the date on the check or the tithe envelope!

(Mostly) Close the Month

Once all offerings have been entered, finish December just like any other month by following the NextStep button: Deposits, Checks, Remittance, Allocations, Reconcile. But do not Print Monthly Reports quite yet!

Note: Reconciling December before you close will ensure that your year-end reports are accurate.

Year-end Budget Tasks

1. Ensure that you have copied this year's budget into next year: Budget - End-of-Year Rollover
2. Check your settings for zeroing out sub accounts in Maintenance / Properties / General tab. Jewel will automatically enter a transfer to zero out the indicated sub accounts. The transfer will be entered when you Print Year-End Reports. You will not be able to make any manual changes/corrections or manually enter any transactions after you Print Monthly Reports, so please check now to ensure that this choice is set correctly.
3. Go to Reports & Graphs / Financial Summary and print a copy of the December report. Then create a Year-to-Date report and print it as well, to include in your report to the board. This way you will have reports that show the December transactions, before the end-of-year transfers change them.
4. Make any manual end-of-year transfers that your board has authorized you to make, using “Transfer Funds.” See Zero Year-end Negative Balances for tips on how to decide what transfers to do.
5. Go back to the Financial Summary and verify that it looks the way it is supposed to, remembering that Jewel is about to enter the automatic transfer you specified in Step 2. Fix any errors you find.

Print Monthly, then Year-End Reports

From here on, you can follow your NextStep button to close the year. Once all transactions for the year are entered, click the NextStep button to Print Monthly Reports, and then immediately Print Year-End Reports. You will not be able to make any changes, corrections, or additions after you Print Monthly Reports, so be sure you have completed all of the above steps.

Note: The default year-end report setting is just one report: "Financial Summary for the fiscal year ending Dec. 31, 20xx."

Form 1099 Payments

Once you've printed your reports, the NextStep button will say "Choose Form 1099 Payments". This report assists in the preparation of IRS Form 1099, which in the United States must be provided to each vendor who has been paid more than a specified cumulative amount during the year. See 1099s - Quick Start for instructions on generating this report and related tasks.

Note: Jewel does not file the 1099s for you. It just helps you identify potential vendors.

Contribution Receipts

The last NextStep of the year-end close is "Print Receipts". If you wish to import an image of your signature so that Jewel can print it on receipts, rather than hand-signing each receipt, then go to Maintenance / Properties / Church info tab, and follow the instructions here.

• If you are ready to print receipts, load your printer and go for it!
• If you are NOT ready to print receipts, follow the instructions on the pop-up box to move past this step so you can come back later.

NOTE: Just make sure you come back later - but not too much later. You should start handing/sending the donor receipts out by the 2nd Sabbath of the new year.

Click here for more detailed Receipt printing instructions.

Click here for mailing envelope specifics.

After receipts, the NextStep will say “Back Up Data”, followed by sending the month-end backup to the conference. And then it will roll over to "Start New Offering" for January!

Happy New Year from all of us at Jewel!!

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